Parents' satisfaction and compliance with recommendations following psychoeducational assessment of children

The effectiveness of psychoeducational evaluations was examined through an adaptation of the Health Belief Model (I.M. Rosenstock, Health Education Monographs, 2(4), 1974), which provides a framework for understanding relationships among several variables believed to influence parent compliance with recommendations and satisfaction with services. The model emphasizes the role of parents' perceptions about their children's vulnerability, the severity of the problems, and the utility of the recommendations in explaining both compliance and satisfaction. The subjects were parents of children, aged 5–18, who received evaluations in private agencies. Major analyses were on 77 subjects, a subset of the 154 parents who had completed all phases of the study and received a recommendation to pursue tutoring for their children. The results indicate the significant role played by parents' reactions to the specific recommendations made as well as beneficial changes in the children and families that result from the evaluation process.